What Are the Chances of a White Christmas?
Climate change is also messing with cherished holiday dreams. David Biello reports
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I am dreaming of a white Christmas. Certainly, they were rare in Saint Louis where I grew up.
Looks like they are becoming rarer elsewhere in North America, too, according to a recent analysis of weather records by Environment Canada. Researchers examined data from 1964 to 2009 and found that the chances of more than 2 centimeters of snow on the ground on December 25th had declined by a quarter.
That’s bad news for the many Canadians who consider a white Christmas a birthright. Otherwise, why put up with the long, cold winters? Fortunately, they can just move further north where there's still a near certainty of snowfall by Christmas. But even in the Great White North the amount of snow is declining, according to the same weather records.
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Down here in the balmy States, the ground hasn't even frozen here in the Northeast, which makes it unlikely any snow that did grace us on the 25th would stick around. So I guess we'll have to keep dreaming. Until we take action about climate change.
—David Biello
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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